What a pleasant surprise....

[Guest guest]

....I woke up and checked my E-mail this morning and was pleasantly surprised

by all the people who sent me their thoughts. I really appreciate it. So I'll

bring all of you up to date.

At six weeks, when I went to one crutch, the pain in my hip started

again. Dr Mont sent me a prescription for more aggressive therapy on my abductor

muscles. I did that to no avail. I finally realized that I needed to go back to

Baltimore to see him in person. I feared the worst, that the prosthetic was

coming loose and I'd need another surgery, which I would have to pay for myself

being B/Cross wouldn't pay again so soon after my first surgery. The good

news was Dr Mont said the surgery was a total success and the prosthetic looks

perfect. So the pain must be coming from soft tissue. He had me talk to his

specialist who would try to figure out which muscles were causing the pain.

He narrowed it down to 2 muscles on the side of my hip, the gluteus

minimus and medius. I did 2 days of therapy while there and they sent me home

with

an electronic muscle stimulator. Twice a day I hook it up to the side of my

hip while I do a particular movement that helps strengthen the 2 muscles. I

also was given a list of particular water exercises that I do 3 times a week in

a

warm pool.

Dr Mont called after 2 weeks to see how I was doing, he's very

concerned, and I said let's give it another week. So we had a conference call

with Dr

Mont, the specialist and me a week later. I said I felt a slight improvement

and hoped it continued. They said that's good for 3 weeks of work and to

continue. Later that week I realized the improvement I felt had brought the

muscles

back to pre-operative shape but I still have the same pain when I stand or

walk. So I went through the surgery and recovery to get me right back where I

started.

Now I need to figure which type of doctor to go to next. It could be my

back, although I've never felt pain in my back. There are 3 types of back

surgeons alone, not to mention other types of back doctors. I'll bring this up

with Dr Mont the next time I talk to him. So I'm stumped at this point. I've

visited the totally hip website just to see if anybody there has this problem

since no one on this site has such a problem. I found a few posts on that site

by

people who continue to have post-operative pain, also ones whose surgery

didn't help reduce pain either. They're as upset and confused as I am.

One thing that was interesting while I was with Dr Mont was the pod-like

apparatus in the examination room where I was to have my hip joint aspirated.

You lay under it and look up onto the screen and see the xray view of you hip

in real time. So as I moved my leg I could see the metal piece and all the

bones moving. When he put the needle in to drain it, which wasn't painful, I

could see it sticking into the joint. It was really interesting. The liquid he

pulled out was clear, as he suspected.

Also my wife and I got to see a beautiful winter storm while back in

Baltimore. It was like someone took one of those globes filled with water and

snow and turned it upside down. Everything was white. We grew up near Cleveland

so we enjoy snow when we can see it. Of course it shut down Baltimore for 2

days so the people there didn't enjoy it as much as us!

I also had a nice long chat with Moulton in Baltimore. She lives

there and has a BHR from Dr DeSmet. We would have gotten together if it weren't

for the weather. My wife said she never heard me talk to someone on the phone

for so long. enjoys talking!

So that's where I stand, in pain! Thanks again to everyone who emailed

me. It was greatly appreciated.

Tom in San Francisco